28th April 2014 Tomorrow the planning committee of West Sussex County Council discusses the application by Cuadrilla to test drill its well at Balcombe. It will consider a report by the council’s strategic planning manager, Mike Elkington, which recommends approval of the application. The committee will also hear […]
14th April 2014 The government wants to allow onshore oil exploration sites to store up to 200 tonnes of crude oil for up to six months without applying for an environmental permit.
A round-up of fracking news from February 2014. 28/2/14A freedom of information request to the Department of Energy and Climate Change confirms that Cuadrilla did not seismic surveys at Balcombe. The most recent surveys, according to DECC, were 2d surveys and were carried out in the 1900s
21st February 2014 Transcripts of last week’s parliamentary questions on: On-the-ground inspections of drilling rigs by the Environment Agency and Health and Safety Executive Cost to the country of tax breaks for shale gas companies Cost of policing anti fracking protests Financial and economic benefits of fracking Liabilities […]
13/2/14 Charges brought under trades union legislation against two anti-fracking campaigners were dropped this morning before they gave evidence in court. Robert Basto, 66, of Reigate, and Jamie Spiers, 29, of no fixed address, had denied besetting Cuadrilla’s staff, contractors and suppliers at its oil exploration site at […]
Yesterday, Peter Lilley MP, a member of the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee told Channel 4 News that 200 wells had been fracked in the UK. Vanessa Vine, of Britain and Ireland Frack Free, told the programme that an email to her from the Department […]
http://www.InvestigatingBalcombeAndCuadrilla.com has been trying for nearly a fortnight to get answers from Cuadrilla to some simple questions. Cuadrilla responded this afternoon and the answers are below, unedited. Will Balcombe be able to take advantage of the community benefit scheme? This single well exploration activity that Cuadrilla has been undertaking […]
Environment Data Services (ENDS) Report revealed today (17/1/14) that the Environment Agency has had its budget cut by £10m more than expected. The Environment Agency (EA) will receive £397.4m of revenue funding from the government for the year 2014-15, down from £467m in 2013-14. According to ENDS, the […]
The shale industry needs to improve its engagement with the public, according to one of the UK’s leading environmental advisors. In a report published this week, the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) said there was a “disappointing degree of defensiveness” from people closely involved in […]
23/12/13 George Brown acquitted of an offence under Section 4 of the Public Order Act after a trial at Horsham Magistrates Court. 21/12/13 Alice O’Keeffe writes in The Guardian about her experience of the climate camp at Balcombe in August.
DRILL OR DROP? 